Big Sur 2009 (aka: don’t cry, you were always an ugly crier)
April 28, 2009
This past weekend Eric, Chris, and I made our way to Monterey and Big Sur, California. And why? Because once again I talked Eric into doing the Big Sur marathon with me. But before I go into the details of the weekend let’s backup a bit….
So, just like the last time I signed up for a marathon (Big Sur 2007) the real purpose of the marathon isn’t really the marathon itself but instead the months of training. True to my Viking roots, I’m one of those people who gains about 15 pounds if I stop working out for more than a week or two. This means that I really have to be diligent about my exercise. And nothing spells diligent training like a marathon! And, let’s face it – I love food. And the body is a lot more forgiving for that Tartine morning roll and occasional donut (and big slice of cake with lots of frosting and strawberries with about a pound of homemade whipped cream, and …) when you ran 14 miles earlier that day.
And beyond all that, there’s a category at the Big Sur marathon called “Bonneydale” [sometimes it’s also called the “Athena” category]. It’s the category you can enter if you are over 145-150 lbs (depending on the race) and a woman. For men it’s called “Clydesdale” and is typically over 195 lbs. Anyway, I realized that if I ran at about a 9:30 pace for the marathon I’d have a real chance at placing in the top three for that. This would be a huge achievement because:
1) I’ve never placed in a sport. Ever. And to place for a marathon would be an epic win!
2) I thought to myself, “if you can place at a marathon than no matter what your body is like at that point, no matter how much you weigh, you’re really healthy. And that is enough.” Which is to say that I saw a win as validation that my body was good where it was – no matter what weight I was at when I crossed the finish line.
Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news but none of that happened. Instead, Eric and I ran it ~20 minutes slower than 2007 and I was in extreme pain.
The Injuries
- I started keeping my exercise journal again on January 5th and on my very first entry I wrote “yesterday did 58 minutes/ 6 miles so today was rest as to avoid inflaming my right hip and knee” And basically that issue (my right hip) plagued me through all of my marathon training. The pain basically feels joint-related all up inside my middle to outer hip into the very top outer part of the booty. It starts kind of achy with this “I want to extend my leg out and pop my hip joint” feeling and then it gets sharper and sharper as I run. Soon enough I also feel sharp pain in my knee. So much sharp pain in fact that I started to wonder (during the marathon) if it was going to get so bad that my leg would just be unable to bend at all – like sharp pain rigor mortis! No lies!
On the Friday before the marathon (so the 24th) I had my first physical therapy appointment. Basically I needed the guy to tell me how I was going to get through the marathon with all the shin pain I had been experiencing. When Chris and I ran in Mexico, for example, the first lap or two I’d be hobbling and then it would slowly get better right up until we stopped – at which point the shin pain would cause me to limp around for the next twenty minutes. This injury was the one I was most worried about. I hadn’t experienced the hip issue for a while (it tended to come and go) but the shin could be a killer. I figured it was classic shin splints so I asked the guy to just tape up my leg, show me a stretch or two, and let me know the exact amount of Ibuprofen one could take before reaching toxic levels. Unfortunately, instead of that I was told that I had stress fractures up and down my left shin. He proceeded to tape my leg (and teach me how to do it for the marathon) but it was a really hard blow.
Friday Night
After getting the bad news on Friday afternoon I was pretty low. I still went out to sushi with Chris and Neil but by the end of it I felt fairly withdrawn. I was having an internal self-pity party of sorts. I thought about all the training runs I’d done – so many more long runs than the last time we did a marathon… I thought about all those cold winter mornings when I’d get my ass out of bed at 6:30am to go on runs three times during the week (plus long-run Saturday!) even when it sucked. And then I thought about how there was a very very real chance I wouldn’t be able to complete the race. How I could end up with a full-blown fracture through my shin, which would then totally fuck up my chances at completing the AIDS ride.
Eric made it the Bay Area by around 8:30 – 9pm and he picked me up in Palo Alto and we headed right up to SF. He wanted to study for the rest of the night but it ended up being me sobbing and sobbing with him trying to say it’d be ok no matter how it turned out. I was so stressed out and so very very scared.
Saturday
Well the gods must have taken pity on me because I woke up Saturday morning in a much better mood. Chris, Eric, and I got up fairly early and headed down to Tartine for a delicious breakfast and then started on our way to Monterey! The Big Sur race expo happens at the Monterey conference center so we bee-lined for that first. Eric and I picked up all our packet stuff and then we all meandered through the booths.
After all that, we ate lunch at a lovely little seafood place Chris knew about.
Then, Chris and I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium while loser Eric studied at the nearby Starbucks. The Aquarium just got a new special exhibit on seahorses and I’ve got to tell you – it’s seriously cool. Something about seahorses is so magical. Like I’ve said before, they’re like the chariots of Thumbelina-sized mermaids!
And, as you see here, apparently regular sized mermaids too! (who friggin knew?!?!)
After all that (oh and a glass of wine for Chris) we headed to a pasta place for our pre-race dinner. I wasn’t really that hungry (I’d already eaten so much that day!) but tried to get myself to down at least a little of my pasta! And, straight after dinner we headed back to our totally reasonable hotel motel and I went straight to bed.
Sunday
pre-race
The three of us all set independent alarms for 3AM. Those ended up being unnecessary because I was already awake. Laying there. Eyes open. In darkness.
Chris was super awesome and helpful and filled up my water bottle with half gatorade half water, put a few extra aleve in my little running bag, and drove Eric and I to the buses (for Big Sur you have to take buses to the starting area because they close down HWY 1)
The next few hours (and there were quite a few!) consisted of Eric and me trying to huddle in whatever way provided the most warmth. Turns out there really wasn’t a position that could keep us both warm. So that wasn’t so great. If you are reading this and will one day run Big Sur, bring a few blankets and a pillow!
race
About ten minutes before the start we all lined up at the starting area. It’s just amazing how many people sign up to do Big Sur. I mean it’s just a sea of people! How can there be that many crazy people?!
And yet when the epic champion music starts to play (of the eye of the tiger / start me up epic variety) you forget that it’s crazy. I just looked at Eric and we both just started screaming with excitement.
The race then started and we started all right. Sadly I put sports shield (which is like a friggin god send against chafing) around my stomach (sometimes you can get cut from your shorts on top) and that caused my slippery shorts to ride up my butt like crazy (too slippery to hold so they just decided to defy gravity and go up up up!) So the first two miles were me constantly pulling my shorts down (to no avail). Apparently showing the world my butt has become a favorite past time of mine anyways [see Puerto Vallarta entries].
But I do wonder if trying to pull my shorts down caused me to run with poor form, which then caused the hip to freak out.
Either way, by mile 7 or 8 things weren’t looking so good. My hip injury came on with full force and by mile 10 I couldn’t deny it any longer. I had to stop to stretch it (basically I stretch like I’m really trying to pop my hip out and that seems to help for a mile or so). Mentally doing that was rough because we were right with the 4:30 finish pace group at that point. And stopping meant we’d really lose them. And lose them right before Hurricane Point – the hardest climb in the race (about 520 ft over 2 miles). But I had to stop. The pain was so sharp I couldn’t properly put my right leg out in front of me – I was sort of doing a rounded stride (so instead of the leg going in a straight line it was pushed out to the side and up in a half-moon hoop instead). I just couldn’t take it any longer- after about two miles of it, it was just getting way too severe.
As you can imagine, having to take a stretch due to severe pain at mile 10 (especially when I should have stopped at mile 7 or 
is a mentally daunting thing. You still have 16 miles to go and, since I knew the course, the next 16 were the really had ones. Big Sur has some non-trivial climbing all the way to the end and pain that early means nothing good.
Eric was really understanding (later I found out that since mile five he was experiencing pains, but he didn’t want to “keep me back”) but for me it was rough. The pain was a familiar one – after many 12, 14, and even 16 mile runs with it I knew it was one that would not just disappear if I kept running.
Either way we made our way up Hurricane Point, where I had to stop many many times to stretch it out 
again. By the top my quads were shot. I think it was just a combination of my hip and shin just causing less than perfect form (so you’re using the wrong muscles to make your way up) and not enough hill training. Even though in 2007 our top run was only 12 miles, almost all our long runs were hardcore trail runs up in the LA/Malibu hills. And those runs made Hurricane Point seem not so bad at all. This year, Hurricane point seemed pretty horrible.
After that it was slow going on the descents and the hip pain continued. I got fairly emotional at a few moments because I was just so frustrated with myself. If only I would have trained better (better hill climbing and better as in injury-free) I could be achieving my dream 9:30 pace. But instead I knew I wasn’t even going to get what I got in 2007 (about 4:57).
I think it was around mile 20 that Eric and I finally realized we needed to seriously walk. We were both in so much pain and my hip felt way way better walking than running. And so we walked. And, to be honest, it was probably the most enjoyable part of the race. I laughed for the first time. And, once I realized I would still be able to finish, I felt ok.
At almost mile 24 Chris found us! He walked out to run the last mile with us (and take lots of pictures) but since we were slower than we hoped, he just decided to keep coming out to find us. Of course, that was after:
the 4:30 pace group ran past him
he video taped them, thinking we’d be there [video here],
we weren’t there,
he wasn’t sure we weren’t there so decided to run after the pace group just to be sure [video here],
then was sure and decided to keep walking (hoping we really hadn’t passed him!)
And then found us!
And with all that said, it was great to see him! Great and sort of funny and sad. Funny because the juxtaposition of his energy to our absolute exhaustion really showed me how dead Eric and I were. Sad because it meant that my marathon end wasn’t going to be what I hoped for (us running strong as we made our goal 4:30 time).
Either way, we all walked together until mile 25, at which point we decided to harness all our energy and run the final 1.2 miles in [video of agony here]. Near the end Chris ran ahead to get pictures of us, Eric grabbed my hand and we ran the last stretch and through the finish line together. A team and partnership. From start to finish. In 2007 and 2009.
And, just like in 2007, I got a bit choked up at the end. I was a bit too weak to hold back the tears. I was so relieved while also disappointed while also happy. Relieved it was over, that we made it. Disappointed it wasn’t what I wanted – that I failed in a way. And happy – happy for such a great best friend and boyfriend.
After that we dragged our bodies (with the help of Chris!) to lunch. And then, Eric and I both fell asleep as Chris drove us back to San Jose.
And that my friends, was my emotionally turbulent marathon weekend 2009.
You can see all the pictures (with additional inside commentary) here
And all videos can be found here
Puerto Vallarta (Día Dos): Meandering and Eating
April 16, 2009
We decided that our first full day in Puerto Vallarta (or PV, as the cool kids say) should be all about getting a feel for the area. No frenetic do-as-much-as-possible schedule for us! Oh no! This was about relaxation!
So we got up and went for a nice morning run (vacation or not the marathon is still happening Sunday!) on a track that was, quite conveniently, right across the street from our hotel, showered, and then consulted the map to figure out how to make our way to both the Malecón (boardwalk area) and the playa de los muertos (supposedly the best beach in the area… just don’t focus on the name too much [means beach of the dead!])
While we were headed down there we stumbled upon a Huichol shop. The Huichol are an indigenous ethnic group that makes some really neat artsy stuff – both creatures that are covered in little beads (example) and pictures that are made by sticking string into wax (example). It was all pretty neat!
After the stop we ended up on the Malecón seriously hungry! We hadn’t had breakfast and it was already noon (and I don’t know about you but running eventually makes me hungry)! We walked around and decided we totally felt like paella and the Bodeguita del medio had it! (note: yeah yeah I know there’s a branch in Palo Alto so it’s not taco stand authentic but whatever).
We went to their open-air second floor and looked over the ocean while I sipped a most delicious pina colada and had absolutely delicious paella. Daayyuum it was tasty. So tasty that I couldn’t even eat dessert! So you know I was seriously full!
After that we continued our way down the Malecón until we thought we saw the playa de los muertos, at which point we wanted to walk up some of the streets to see a bit more of the area. On our way we found a little candy shop which I most definitely made us stop at. We got these little dulce de leche soft treats and some stuff for Chris’ lab. And of course, like everywhere else, everyone was totally shocked at Chris’ Spanish. When we were buying the goods this other woman started talking to us in English and when Chris responded in Spanish she interrupted him with “oh gosh you look so American, I thought you guys were from there not here!” At which point he explained the whole story. And, to my credit, I totally understood like 99% of the conversation! My Spanish ain’t too shabby either you know!
Oh and I forgot! There are some super interesting sculptures up and down the Malecón. I think my favorite was Sergio Bustamante’s “In Search of Reason” [to see the whole piece, click the link]. I’d never seen his stuff before but I totally dig his style. It all has this surreal, magical, slightly mathematical-geometric (and maybe slightly dark) feeling to it. But all that withstanding, I still wanted Chris to pose like a dork next to it [see right]. 
After getting some treats we found an Internet cafe. Chris wanted to check on some work stuff and we also wanted to quickly research what tour/adventure things we wanted to do. We thought one water and one land sounded good. Earlier in the day we had signed up with Chico’s dive shop for a snorkel trip to Los Arcos so all that was left was a land one.
Vallarta adventures advertised pretty much everywhere and their website was good so we ended up choosing the “outdoor adventure” option there. Here’s their website’s description:
“Your adventure begins with an exhilarating speed boat ride that takes you to Boca de Tomatlan, a secluded beach at the edge of the jungle on the southern shores of Banderas Bay. From here, an exciting off-road expedition aboard our 4×4 Unimogs will take you 2000 ft above sea level to our base camp in the heart of the Sierra Madre Mountains. 
Then, you’ll take a fascinating mule ride higher and further into the sub-tropical forest, where you’ll begin a series of thrilling zip lines, rappel down waterfalls, cross jungle bridges and splash through streams and natural river pools on the Outdoor Adventure Circuit.”
We thought that all sounded super fun and exciting so we signed up!
After that we made our slow way back to hotel, put on our swim suits and tried out the pool. The pool water was a little too warm for my taste (not really refreshing, you know) but we had a fun time floating around. The highlight, though, was unquestionably when I tried to get out of the pool. I jumped up from the water to try and give myself enough umpf to get out on the side and basically my bottoms totally fell down by ass. Not like a little pushed down, I’m talking full-on mooning. The entire pool (full of kiddies and groups of guys playing volleyball) was subjected to my neon white butt. And, because I was so shocked in a this-is-happening-in-slow-mo way, I sort of like stayed half-way out of the water for way longer than necessary. But soon enough two women behind me started laughing and explaining all the traumatizing bathing suit experiences they’ve had, too. At that point I felt better and eventually harnessed the courage to get out (really really slowly.)
After all that (and a shower) we took a taxi down to Fajita Republic for dinner.We realized upon our arrival that the real action was happening a little further down than we’d made it on our walk that day.
Dinner was yummy (not paella-amazing but tasty), though I didn’t find their pina colada to be nearly as scrumptious as the one I had earlier. Though, I was introduced to the idea of jicama covered in lime juice and some sort of red peppery powder on it. Different and a must try!
After that we walked around the area (zona romántica) a bit more before just walking the whole way back to the hotel.
Day two, a success!
Puerto Vallarta (Día Uno): Bienvenidos!
April 15, 2009
Chris and I decided to book a last minute vacation to Puerto Vallarta two weeks ago. For about $500-and-some-odd dollars each we got roundtrip tickets and 5 nights at the Sheraton Buganvilias. Seemed like a bargain so we figured “why not?!”
Timing wise it was the best it was going to be for us. My marathon is this Sunday and after that I’ve got to train like a crazy person for the AIDS ride (which means week long vacations aren’t really on the agenda). And since Chris has the Death ride in July, we would have had to wait forever to go anywhere. (And I needed a vacation pronto!)
We arrived in Puerto Vallarta late in the afternoon on Wednesday to a whirlwind of super aggressive taxi people. Right when you walk out of baggage they start yelling at you. And they did it in such a way (with such vigor and self-assurance) that at first I wondered if some official was trying to stop us for something, well, official.
Speaking of official stuff, in Mexico when you go through customs you push this button after your stuff goes through the x-ray. If the light is green, you walk through. If it’s red, they go through your bag.
Of course, when I pushed the button I got a big fat red. All of a sudden I had a mini stomach spasm. I had a few packs of fruit snacks on me and Chris said we didn’t need to declare them. But, when the light went off all I could think was “oh shit oh shit they saw the fruit snacks! I’m gonna be locked up in a Mexican prison for my fruit snacks!”
Turns out they didn’t say anything about them.
So back to the taxis… when we got outside they were yelling and yelling trying to hurry you into one for a super high price. Of course, what they didn’t know was that
1) Chris is fluent in Spanish … and not I-took-a-crapload-of-Spanish-in-school fluent but I-lived-in-Mexico-and-if-you-listened-to-a-recording-of-my-voice-you’d-think-I-still-lived-in-Mexico fluent,
2) we knew approximately how much we should be charged for the ride (so we didn’t fall for their lies!)
So Chris basically told a few of them “don’t f*** with me” in Spanish and ended up getting us a lovely ride for $12 USD. I felt bad for this other girl who ended up agreeing to $15 but, since she only had a twenty, when they were about to give her change the guy was like “$5 tip for me? And sort of just took it and left” – by the time I saw what was happening and told Chris to go out and help her, it was too late. 
I know it’s only a few bucks one way or the other but it really really really bugs me.
After all the hoopla we eventually got to our hotel. Our room was actually totally decent! I was a little scared given some of the stuff I’d read online about the hotel but I don’t know what people were talking about. The rooms were simple but clean and totally fine. And the “ocean view”, while not exactly what I thought “ocean view” entailed, was lovely. And we even had a little patio with chairs (which we ended up using a fair amount to sit out post our morning runs). The only negative (though in the end I think it was more of a positive) was that the internet didn’t work for us.
After we dumped off our bags and looked around the hotel a bit we headed out to find some comida (that’s food for all you gringos). The area right around the hotel wasn’t really bustling with options so we ended up venturing down for a bit. Soon enough things were livening up and we spotted a taco stand. One of my goals for the trip was to try all the really authentic Mexican food (you know, like NOT the Bubba Gump’s down a bit further), so I agreed to give it a go. So Chris spoke his Spanish magic and voila! we got tacos.
At these stands the eating process is a bit different than anything I’ve done in the US (granted, I’ve never eaten at a taco stand in the US [haven’t and probably never will being the epicure I am]). Instead of ordering all your tacos at once you get them as you go. They’re like mini soft tacos, so you end up getting somewhere between three (me) and a whole lot more than three (Chris). I even tried a little bit of Chris’ cow tongue one! Not too bad (save for that tongue-like scale-skin nasty look)!
After dinner I felt it my diplomatic duty to try Mexican desserts and pastries so we walked over to the grocery store. Inside they’ve got loads of different kinds of pastry all laying out next to some flat metal sheets. To get some you just get a little tong and a sheet, plop the treats of your choice on the sheet, and head to the register. We ended up getting like six different ones to try! (Oh and that’s after Chris purposely walked me down next to a friggin cow head!! You can buy a cow head! With teeth in it and eyes and everything!! It took everything in my being to keep my gag reflect in abeyance while I was standing there! )
I was good and waited to try the desserts until we got back to our hotel but all my good behavior was for nada. Why? Because Mexican desserts (or at least pastries…flan is a different story) are no good! The bread is all airy, super dry, and then just coated in sugar crap. How can that be?! How can all their pastries be imposters?!
So that was day one.
Good news: I didn’t have any *cough* issues with my new and exciting taco stand adventure (and they’re yummy!).
Bad news (well…maybe good depending on how you look at it): Mexican pastries are a fail.
Day one complete!